それはある軍人の家族、といふよりも寧ろ遺族、の住んでゐる家でした。主人は何でも日清戰爭の時か何かに死んだのだと上さんが云ひました。一年ばかり前までは、市ヶ谷の士官學校の傍とかに住んでゐたのだが、厩などがあつて、邸が廣過ぎるので、其所を賣り拂つて、此所へ引つ越して來たけれども、無人で淋しくつて困るから相當の人があつたら世話をして呉れと頼まれてゐたのださうです。私は上さんから、其家には未亡人と一人娘と下女より外にゐないのだといふ事を確かめました。私は閑靜で至極好からうと心の中に思ひました。けれどもそんな家族のうちに、私のやうなものが、突然行つた處で、素性の知れない書生さんといふ名稱のもとに、すぐ拒絶されはしまいかといふ掛念もありました。私は止さうかとも考へました。然し私は書生としてそんなに見苦しい服裝はしてゐませんでした。それから大學の制帽を被つてゐました。あなたは笑ふでせう、大學の制帽が何うしたんだと云つて。けれども其頃の大學生は今と違つて、大分世間に信用のあつたものです。私は其場合此四角な帽子に一種の自信を見出した位です。さうして駄菓子屋の上さんに教はつた通り、紹介も何もなしに其軍人の遺族の家を訪ねました。
translation
It was the house of a military man's family, or rather a bereaved family. My husband said that he died during the Sino-Japanese War or something else. Until about a year ago, I was living near the military academy in Ichigaya, but there were stables and the mansion was too large, so I sold it and moved here. However, it seems that he had been asked to take care of him if he had someone of his own, because he was troubled by being unattended and lonely. I was assured by Mrs. Mae that there were no other people in the house than a widow, an only daughter, and a maid. I thought to myself that it would be best to stay quiet. However, I was worried that someone like me might suddenly be rejected by the name of a student whose background I don't know. I even considered stopping. However, as a student, I didn't wear such unsightly clothes. Also, I was wearing my university cap. You'll laugh, what's wrong with the university cap? However, unlike today, university students in those days were greatly trusted by society. In that case, I found a kind of confidence in this square hat. So, as I had been told by the manager of the candy store, I visited the bereaved family of the soldier without any introduction.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 軍人: military personnel (ぐんじん), soldier | 家族: family (かぞく) | 寧: rather (むしろ), better, instead, if anything | 遺族: bereaved family (いぞく), surviving family, family of the deceased |
| 家: house (いえ), residence, dwelling, family, household | 主人: head (of a household) (しゅじん), proprietor (of a store), proprietress, landlord, landlady | 何: what (なに), what (ナニ), you-know-what, you-know-what, that thing | 日清: Japan and Qing China (にっしん), Nissin Foods (abbr) |
| 死: death (し), death (ﾀﾋ), decease, decease, (an) out | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit | 一年: one year (いちねん), one year (ひととし), one year (ひととせ), some time ago, some time ago | 前: point (さき), tip, end, nozzle, head (of a line) |
| 谷: valley (たに) | 士官: officer (しかん) | 學校: school (がっこう) | 學校: school (がっこう) |
| 厩: stable (うまや), stable (まや), barn, barn | 邸: residence (やしき), estate, grounds, premises, mansion | 其所: there (place relatively near listener) (そこ), there (place just mentioned), that place, then (of some incident just spoken of), that (of point just raised) | 此所: here (ここ), this place, this point, here, now |
| 越: Yue (kingdom in ancient China; 6th C-334 BCE) (えつ), Guangdong Province (China), Canton, Kwangtung, Vietnam | 無人: unmanned (ぶにん), unmanned (むじん), unmanned (むにん), uninhabited, uninhabited | 人: -ian (e.g. Italian) (じん), -ite (e.g. Tokyoite), -er (e.g. performer, etc.), person working with …, man | 世話: care (せわ), looking after, help, assistance, aid |
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 未亡人: widow (みぼうじん) | 一人娘: only daughter (ひとりむすめ) | 下女: maidservant (げじょ) |
| 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 確: sure (たしか), certain, positive, definite, reliable | 至極: very (しごく), extremely, exceedingly, quite, most | 好: friendship (ぎ), friendship (よしび), friendship (よしみ), friendly relations, friendly relations |
| 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 突然: abrupt (とつぜん), sudden, unexpected | 行: line (of text) (ぎょう), row, verse, carya (austerities), samskara (formations) | 處: place (とこ), place (ところ), spot, spot, scene |
| 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) | 書生: student (しょせい), student who performs housework in exchange for meals and lodging, houseboy (attending school or university) | 拒絶: refusal (きょぜつ), rejection | 考: thought (こう), report on one’s investigation into …, deceased father |
| 大學: university (だいがく), college, former imperial university of Japan (established under the ritsuryō system for the training of government administrators), the Great Learning (one of the Four Books) | 制帽: regulation cap (せいぼう), school cap | 被: indicates the target of an activity (ひ), -ee (e.g. employee, examinee, trustee) | 笑: laugh (わらい), laughter, smile, sneer, sex aids (e.g. dildos, pornographic books, erotic woodblock prints, etc.) |
| 生: pure (き), undiluted, raw, crude, raw (なま) | 學生: student (esp. a university student) (がくせい) | 今: now (いま), the present time, just now, soon, immediately | 大分: considerably (だいぶ), considerably (だいぶん), greatly, greatly, a lot |
| 世間: world (せけん), society, people, the public | 信用: confidence (しんよう), trust, faith, reputation, credit (finance) | 四角: quadrilateral (しかく), square | 帽子: hat (ぼうし), cap |
| 自信: self-confidence (じしん), confidence (in oneself) | 位: throne (くらい), crown, (nobleman’s) seat, government position, court rank | 駄菓子屋: small-time candy store (だがしや), penny candy store | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. |
| 軍人: military personnel (ぐんじん), soldier |